Lend a Hand
by BoomShroom
Summary: A fundaraiser is being held to help a local hospital in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and co. attend, willing to help out. But when they are celebrating their success inside after the moon rises, they find that they are trapped inside with a psychopathic killer who murders without hesitation. Rated M for language and some gore later on.
1. Chapter 1

**Recently, I've decided to try out a bunch of different genres. So I now present to you a horror story. It will probably contain some gore later on though, so be warned. This first chapter, however, isn't really horrifying. It's just to introduce the scene, the characters, and everything else. Next chapter should be where the action begins. Disclaimer: I don't own Mario or any of the characters. They belong to Nintendo.**

**Lend a Hand**

Rosalina shut her eyes as the bright sun began to assault her the moment she stepped outside. She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust, and then continued walking to her destination.

A toad walked by and greeted her. She waved to him, then, remembering the dozens of shopping bags she was carrying, quickly positioned them under them again.

Rosalina believed that she had bought everything that they needed for the fundraiser. Vegetables, fruits, breads, and other foods were stuffed in every grocery bag and were nearly falling out. It seemed like too much for one person to carry, but she had accepted the task, and now she had to fulfill it.

The leafy end of a carrot tickled her nose and the princess tried to hold it in. She was unsuccessful, and one of the bags slipped off of another, falling towards the ground.

Luckily, a green dinosaur dived and caught the bag before its contents could spill out onto the floor. He stood up and smiled at the girl, who smiled back.

"Thanks Yoshi. It's a good thing you came by when you did."

"Anytime. Say, I just got done with my assignment, so I was about to head back to St. Pat T.'s hospital too. May I help you with those?"

"Sure." she said. Yoshi took half of the bags, relieving her of much of the stress.

"It sure is nice of you to come all the way out here to the Mushroom Kingdom to help us out with the fundraiser. I'm sure you must have been pretty busy." Yoshi said, shifting the bags in his arms into a better position.

"It's no problem. I'm glad to help out in any way I can, especially since it's for a good cause."

"Yeah. It's great that we'll be able to raise money to fund the hospital. I heard that many of the patients have already been transferred to other hospitals due to the cut backs in their budget. Less than twenty remain. The other hospitals are getting too crowded and can't support all of the new patients. That's why it's important for this fundraiser to be a success. If it is, then more people can be moved there instead, lifting the pressure off of the other hospitals. Divide and conquer, eh?"

Rosalina nodded. She was glad to be a part of it. Not only would she be helping people, but she would be able to spend time with her friends again. She hadn't seen them for quite a while. It was also very difficult to send messages to her since she was always on a comet traveling through the cosmos, so nobody had been able to keep in touch with her. But a few weeks earlier, she had been able to receive a special invitation from Princess Peach to attend the fundraiser. Her friends would be there as well, able to use their fame to attract more customers. It also came as a shock to her to discover that she had quite a few fans as well. Mario had told people about his intergalactic adventure and had informed people about her help, creating adoring fans that didn't even know what she looked like, but were eager to meet her.

When Rosalina found out about this, she couldn't contain her excitement. Of course she wanted to help out and see her friends again, but being able to meet her fans played a big part in it as well. As soon as she had finished reading the message, she set a course straight for the Mushroom Kingdom. When she arrived, Princess Peach offered to let her stay in a spare room at the castle. It had been relaxing for a few days, a break away from caring for the Lumas she cared about so much, but also grew weary from. But after a while, she began to worry about them once more. She knew that they were safe in orbit around the planet with a squad of Peach's maids who had offered to keep an eye on them until Rosalina departed. But she just couldn't help worrying about them as if she were their mother. Technically, she wasn't. But she was the closest thing to one for them.

"Rosalina?" Yoshi repeated her name again.

"Huh?"

"I said that we're here. Are you going to drop these off inside with me, or not?"

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I was just lost in my thoughts." she said, shaking her head. Then she followed Yoshi into the hospital.

When they reached the cafeteria they saw Toadsworth talking to Peach about something.

"…and no running with scissors, it's dangerous. Now that covers page eight of my safety list. Now onto page nine."

Peach sighed and rested her head on the table in front of her.

"Um, we have the food you wanted." Rosalina interrupted, placing the bags on the table.

"Hm?" the elderly toad stared at them for a moment, confused, then his eyes lit up and he rushed towards them.

"Oh! Splendid! Good work, yes, very good work."

Peach stood up as well, a look of relief on her face. She walked over to Yoshi and Rosalina and helped them place the groceries on the table.

"Thank you both. I hope it wasn't too much trouble getting these back here."

"Nah, we were able to manage it just fine." Yoshi stated proudly.

Toadsworth grabbed a rather large bag from Yoshi and tried to transfer it to the table. The bag's weight shifted forward, sending the old man careening in the direction as well. He leaned back to even out the distribution of the weight, but it sent him stumbling backwards instead.

"Do you need help with that, Toadsworth?" Peach asked, worried about the old man's health.

"Hut! Help? Perish the thought! I can do this myself. I'm as strong as an ox and as limber as a-" Toadsworth said, but was cut off as he fell backwards, the bag falling on top of him and pinning him to the floor.

He groaned and said in a muffled voice, "Perhaps I could use some assistance…"

The three couldn't help but laugh at the poor man's blunder. Yoshi helped him up, Toadsworth muttering about back pain under his breath. Rosalina turned back to Peach.

"So, is there anything else I can do to help?"

Peach smiled at her and took her hand, leading her out of the hospital to where the stalls were being set up.

I'll have one of the mushroom pies, please." a toad said.

"Certainly." Rosalina smiled at him and handed him the food he had requested. He gave her the appropriate amount of coins, thanked her, and walked away. Rosalina prepared herself for the next customer.

She was sweating slightly and felt rather shaky. The people were friendly, but she wasn't used to having so many people around her. Floating through space, cut off from civilization with nobody else except a horde of star children had made her quite shy and claustrophobic around other people.

But she took a deep breath and prepared to speak with the next person waiting in line. She had decided to run the baked goods stall, so she would stick to her job and refuse to give up. Starting something and giving up halfway was something she would never allow herself to do.

The next customer stepped up to the stand, this one a young toad girl with yellow braids.

"Hello. How may I help you?" Rosalina asked.

"I want one of those!" the toad bounced up and down excitedly as she pointed to a slice of apple pie.

"Of course. That'll be five coins, please."

The toad stopped bouncing and frowned at the money in her hand. She looked up at Rosalina, her eyes wet with unshed tears on the verge of overflowing.

"All I have is th-three…"

Rosalina didn't know what to do. She had never done something like this before. Was she just supposed to tell the little girl to pay up or get lost? That seemed awfully mean. Rosalina didn't think she could do something so heartless.

She put a hand on the little girl's shoulder and looked into her eyes.

"Don't worry. I'll just pay those last two coins for you, okay?"

The girl's eyes lit up, a huge grin spreading across her face.

"R-really? You mean it?"

"Of course."

The toad gave Rosalina her money and took the slice of pie. She shrieked with glee and started to skip away, but came back a moment later.

"Thank you, lady."

Rosalina smiled and waved goodbye to her. She turned back to the line to see that it had finally subsided…for now.

She sighed and rested her head on the table, her eyes closed and her head pounding. Never before had she had to talk to so many people in one sitting. The nervous tension and unfamiliarity had left her with an exposed sensation and splitting headache. The weather didn't help much either. The afternoon sun was blazing down on her from above and heating the ground beneath her, making her feel like an egg cooking in a pan. She truly had felt better.

Despite her physical condition, she had loved every part of the day. She had gotten to talk with her friends and help them and she had gotten to meet some of her fans.

She smiled to herself as she remembered their reactions. Rosalina had been bombarded with questions and compliments. Most of them had even asked for autographs. She was ecstatic, but at the same time very uncomfortable. She had felt as though she had been being pulled under thick, swampy water in the crowd, but she also enjoyed the fact that others appreciated her and wanted to know more about her. Perhaps she would speak with them again later.

Rosalina's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a voice call her name.

"Hey, Rose? You okay?"

Rosalina lifted her head to see Daisy, the princess of Sarasaland, standing before her, a worried expression plastered on her face.

Rosalina gave her a weak smile and said, "I'm fine. It's just a little headache, that's all. I'll be okay."

Daisy crossed her arms and frowned at her, obviously not buying it.

Rosalina sighed. "Okay. I guess I don't feel too good."

"Well that's obvious. You need a break." Daisy said. "How about I take this stand off your hands for a while?"

Rosalina's eyes widened. "Than what will I do to help?"

"Do whatever, have fun! You don't always have to be helping people, you know. I swear you're just like Peach…" the tomboy said, giving a good natured shove to the other girl. "Now go and look around. There's plenty to see."

Rosalina stood still for a moment. But wasn't the point of her being there to help out? If Daisy wanted her gone, wouldn't that be the exact opposite of what she was meant to do?

_Oh, I get it. _she thought. _Daisy knew that I needed time to get back in shape. If I'm not performing at my very best, then I can't be working efficiently enough to produce a constant, successful rate of income. So by stepping out and letting Daisy take charge, I WILL be helping._

Rosalina smiled, oblivious to the way she was over thinking things. With this comforting thought, Rosalina began to walk away, but stopped when she heard shouting.

"COME ONE, COME ALL, TO DAISY'S DELICIOUS AND DELECTABLE BAKED FOOD STAND! You want it, we got it! Pies, cakes, cookies, muffins, all at low, low prices! They're delicious and full of flavor! And not to mention the ingredients. We would never stoop lower than the freshest berries for these pies. And it's all for our valued customers."

In no time at all, a large crowd had gathered around Daisy, all rushing to get as much food as they could. Rosalina chuckled and moved on.

It wasn't long before Rosalina ran into another familiar face.

"Hey! You there! Wouldn't you like to have a kiss with the one and only Wario?"

She turned toward the voice to see Wario talking to a koopa woman. He leaned on the counter and gave her a sly grin, raising his eyebrows a couple of times to try to persuade her.

The koopa, however, was utterly repulsed.

"Are you crazy?" she cried, backing away, a look of half horror and half pity on her face. "I wouldn't kiss you for all of the coins in the world!"

"Come on. You know you can't resist THIS." Wario beckoned to her, puckering his lips.

The woman nearly threw up. Instead, she slapped him, leaving a large red mark from where she had him. Then she ran off, a hand placed in front of her mouth in order to avoid puking.

Wario grumbled and rested his head on his hand, scowling and muttering about how the fundraiser wasn't turning into the goldmine he was expecting. Rosalina quickly walked on, not wanting him to confront her either.

Soon Rosalina spotted the two people she would have least expected to see.

"Come and get it while supplies last!" Bowser Jr. shouted to those nearby. "Have you ever looked in the mirror to see some gnarly old guy or wrinkly old lady staring back at you? Well not anymore! With Everyoung Elixir, that's all in the past. Drink it, and I guarantee one hundred and ten percent that you will never see those unsightly blemishes again. Bye-bye, bags! Later, liver spots! It's scientifically proven to work. In fact, eleven out of ten doctors recommend Everyoung Elixir."

By this time a crowd had gathered. But not all of them believed what he said.

"How do we know it works?" one asked.

"Good question, you dumb buffoon." He muttered the last part so no one else could hear. "How about we have a volunteer demonstrate? You, in the back."

The crowd parted and Rosalina glanced around to see who he was talking to. But he was pointing at her.

"M-Me?"

"No, Grambi, who took time out of his busy schedule and came all the way here from the Overthere just to sample some of my wares. Of course I mean you. Now get over here."

Rosalina walked over to him and stood by the young koopa kid, feeling very uncomfortable under the crowd's gaze.

Jr. climbed a small stepladder so that he was standing next to Rosalina's head. He then pointed at a particular part of her face, his tiny claw poking her cheek.

"Do you see that? A wart!" the crowd squinted, struggling to see something. A few nodded, but Rosalina was sure that she didn't have a wart there. She placed a finger on her face where Jr. had touched her. She looked at it to find a bit of gravy on it.

"But there's no need to fear," he said, climbing down and grabbing a bottle, then climbing back up the ladder. "because Everyoung Elixir will take care of that!"

He took the cap off and put the bottle in her mouth. Startled, she coughed and spluttered as it ran down her throat. It tasted horrible, like sugar water mixed with soap and chlorine.

Jr. took the bottle away, brushing the back of his hand across the 'wart' as he did so to make it disappear.

"See? It's gone!"

The crowd was amazed and instantaneously rushed forward to get their hands on the merchandise, surrounding Jr.

"Easy now, easy now! Not all at once! Wait your turn you animals! Ouch! Hey, don't touch that!"

While Jr. was selling the supplies, Bowser was standing within a small tent behind the stand making more of the fake elixir.

It didn't surprise her that they would try to scam people. But before she could stop them, a police man showed up and inquired as to what the two were doing. Rosalina decided to let the law enforcement agent take care of things, and she left.

After wandering around for another few minutes, Rosalina decided to rest in the hospital where it was hopefully more peaceful.

When she entered, she noticed a pronounced difference. It was much quieter and the festive mood had vanished. It seemed still, almost as if time itself had stopped only within the building. It was also very empty. Nobody was in the lobby or walking through the halls. It seemed very peaceful, but also very unsettling, as if something would jump out and grab her before she even had time to scream.

But still she wandered on; her curiosity peaked by the eerie serenity.

Just as she was thinking that there was nobody in the hospital, she quite literally ran into somebody else.

She was a toad with a sea green cap and white spots. She had brown hair in a single braid that fell over her left shoulder. Her eyes were dark blue, gentle and soft, the kind of eyes that a mother would have if she were comforting her scared child. She appeared to be a nurse since she was wearing one of their uniforms.

"Eep! Oh, I'm so sorry!" the woman said with an accent that Rosalina couldn't quite determine. "I really should have watched where I was going. I just sort of space out when I'm walking, you know? It's a terrible habit of mine, really.

"It's okay. It was also my fault. I didn't think anybody else was here."

"Oh, I guess so. Really it's just me and the few patients who remain. But they're all in their rooms. Oh, and Nass T. should be around here somewhere, cleaning the floors and mumbling about the noise outside or something."

"Nass T.?"

"He's the janitor here. Grumpy old fellow, but a good sort. Oh, I suppose I haven't introduced myself either, have I? My name is Swee T. May I ask who you are, dear?

"Rosalina." she said. "My name is Rosalina. Pleased to meet you."

"What a lovely name. And you are quite pretty too." Swee T. said, a glint of envy in her eye. "I bet you have all sorts of men chasing after you!"

Rosalina blushed and looked away. "Oh, not really. I don't tend to see a lot of guys anyway, I become far too busy with the children."

Swee T. looked confused.

"Children? Your children?"

"I suppose they are mine, yes."

"How many do you have?"

"Oh, many of them. I'm usually really busy taking care of them, plus there isn't a lot of social interaction with anyone else in space."

Now Swee T. looked extremely puzzled. She seemed to be deep in thought for a minute, but then she gave a weak chuckle.

"Ah, yes. I see. Well, it was nice talking to you." She said nervously.

They said their goodbyes and parted ways, Rosalina wondering if Swee T. perhaps misunderstood something.

Rosalina stopped and looked out the window, surprised to see the sun already beginning to set and the mass of people diminishing. It had felt as if she had only left the stall a half hour ago, but it had probably been longer. Rosalina felt bad about leaving Daisy in charge of the stall for so long. She would have to apologize to her later.

She decided to travel to the cafeteria where they had all decided to meet up at after the festivities had ended.

Rosalina glanced from side to side. All of the rooms were either empty or the doors were shut. But one room in particular caught her attention. The door was open and she saw somebody sitting on the bed and staring out the window. She wasn't sure why, but she silently entered the room, moving as if some force were dragging her into the room.

The man turned to look at her. He was a koopa, most likely in his late twenties. His eyes were dark green and full of sadness, shadows lying under them from lack of sleep. His shell was a deep blue. Scars ran across it, the various crisscrossing lines glinting in the orange sunlight. He wore green shoes, worn out and dusty, the once stunning emerald color now demoted to a dull, faded green. His most noticeable feature was his lack of a right hand. Where a hand should have been, there was nothing, his arm ending abruptly at a stub. He did have a left hand, but upon closer inspection, it was not his own. The hand was a fake and did not match the color of his skin, his skin being yellow, but the hand a steely gray. It looked as if it had been sewn onto him without much of a care of the result, creating a look of utter deformity.

"May I help you?" his voice was solemn and calm.

Rosalina quickly brought her eyes away from his hand and up to meet his, afraid that he had caught her staring.

He noticed and held the hand out to her.

"You can stare all you want. I'm used to it."

"I'm sorry. I'll be leaving now." Rosalina began to walk out of the room, embarrassed and feeling a strange sense of foreboding, but the koopa stopped her.

"No, it's quite alright. What is your name?"

Rosalina turned to face him again, relieved to see that he was so calm. "Rosalina."

"My name is Konnor." He gestured to a chair near the bed, and Rosalina sat in it.

There was a moment of silence, and Rosalina felt an unsettling sensation envelope her. She had been longing for silence, a moment of peace that would allow her to escape from the vivacious activities occurring outside, a retreat into something she was used to. But this silence was far different. She felt as if noise, any noise at all, was a necessity. Rosalina felt as if she was being suffocated as the man stared into her eyes, the his face devoid of any expression whatsoever, making it impossible for Rosalina to detect anything he might be thinking. She felt as if she would never be free of this overwhelming feeling unless she spoke.

"Why are you all alone in here? Wouldn't you much rather be outside with everyone else?" the spell faded for just a moment, but returned again, strong as ever.

He glanced outside and scoffed at the people below.

"I could be down there, but I would much rather be alone in here. I'm not exactly fond of large crowds, or people for that matter."

"Why?"

"Because people are the ones who did this to me." he said as he held up his mismatched hand.

"I don't believe I understand."

"No one ever does."

She looked deep into his eyes, eyes that showed the soul of a tired man, but a man that still hoped and dreamed even after defeat. Then she asked, "Please, tell me."

Konnor seemed taken aback for a moment, but didn't hesitate to tell her.

"Very well. You see, I was born without any hands. At first it seemed like a death sentence to me, but I adapted to it and it wasn't so bad. But my social life wasn't a desirable one. Other children often teased me or patronized me, making me feel more as if I was an animal in a zoo. I grew to hate them, but there was nothing I could do to stop them. One day, a famous doctor announced that he would attempt a surgery to give me hands. My family and I were ecstatic, but then we found out about the fee. It was extremely expensive, and even with my mother and father working two jobs each, we were barely able to pay for it. But the doctor didn't tell us that he would not give me two hands, only one."

"The surgery was a 'success', but to me, it was far from it. The hand only works part of the time, and when it doesn't, it either stays limp or it will spas out of control. Plus, it is extremely uncomfortable, though I believe that word is an understatement. My body will not accept it as a part of me. The pain, uncomfortable feeling, and unreliability outweighed the pro of having the hand. People started suspecting me of being insane after I was seen trying to remove the hand. But I couldn't bear having the dreaded thing there. It was ruining my life more than it was helping it. They didn't have any solid proof of my insanity, though, so they put me in a hospital where they could keep a close eye on me. They feared that I would hurt myself or others due to my non-existent insanity. They told me that it would just take time to settle in, so I should be placed in a controlled environment where I could let the hand get used to my body, but I saw through their lie. I stayed in the hospital for years until I was finally released. The issue with the hand had remained the same, but I tried my best to act as normal as possible in fear that they would send me back. However, I was caught trying to remove the hand once more just two years ago, and I have been kept in here to this very day."

Rosalina was silent. She knew that nothing she would say would truly ease any of the suffering he had endured. But she needed to let him know something.

"I don't think that it is right for you to be locked up in here without any real reason, but please don't take out your anger on everyone. Everybody is unique and different, so labeling people without getting to know them is not fair. I know you won't forgive those people for what they did to you, but don't blame the people outside for it."

Konnor looked thoughtful, but then the slightest hint of a grin flashed across his face, making his eyes glow with a faint happiness. "You may be right, not everyone is the same. But then again, you may not. Either way, thank you."

The silence returned again, but softer than before. Rosalina turned her attention outside to where the fundraiser was dying down.

"I have an idea." Rosalina said, standing up. "Why don't you come with me? We can't participate in anything outside now, but I can introduce you to my friends."

The koopa almost accepted her offer, but he declined instead.

"No, thank you."

Rosalina waited a moment in case he would change his mind, but his mind was set.

"Okay. Goodbye Konnor."

She was about to exit the room, but the koopa grabbed her wrist with the odd hand. It felt cold and unnatural on her skin with no pulse of life or warmth. It was all she could do to not shudder.

Rosalina turned to face him, surprised to see an almost pleading look on his face.

"Wait, please don't go. It's…been a long time since I've had the chance to speak with someone as understanding as you."

It was at this time that Rosalina made a crucial decision, one that would influence the future in a way far greater than she ever could have predicted.

"I'm sorry. But I don't leave the Mushroom Kingdom for a few more weeks. I promise I can come back and visit you tomorrow."

Konnor's face changed to one of disappointment, but he nodded. "Alright then. Thank you for talking with me today."

Rosalina said goodbye to him and left the room, not sure how to feel about the entire incident.

"I can't believe how much money we raised!" Luigi cried.

"I can't believe no hot girls would kiss me." Wario grumbled.

"I can't believe we got busted by the cops." Bowser whined.

"I can." Mario said, poking the Koopa King in the forehead. "You were scamming people with junk that wouldn't work."

"Hey, we were gonna give fifteen percent to charity!" Jr. countered, slamming his hands dramatically on the table.

"Well now you're gonna give it all to the hospital." Toad chimed in.

"Just let it be known that it was never my intention to do so. Trust me, I've had pretty bad experiences with hospitals before, so there is no way that I would ever do anything to help one." Bowser grimaced as he remembered his previous stay at a specific clinic.

After they had finished cleaning up the stands and leftovers, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Toad, Toadette, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser, Bowser Jr., and Rosalina had gathered in the cafeteria of the hospital, holding a small after party in honor of their success.

Everybody else had gone home, including Toadsworth who had no energy left by the end of the festivities because he spent the entire time rushing about, worrying about the safety issues.

"What time is it, Waluigi?" Peach asked.

Waluigi, the only person currently wearing a watch, checked his and said, "9:04"

"We have time." Daisy assured after she had finished chugging an entire liter of soda. She was about to throw it away when she got an idea. "Hey, let's play truth or dare!"

"What? No way! That's stupid." Bowser roared.

"Sure, why not?" Yoshi agreed.

"Sounds like fun." Toadette seconded.

"Everyone who wants to play, say aye!"

"Aye!" everyone in the room (except Bowser) chanted.

"Jr., you traitor!" Bowser called after his son as the young koopa kid hopped toward the table.

The game lasted for hours, Bowser eventually joining in out of boredom.

The group must have been making quite a racket, because an angry voice came screaming at them during the middle of Wario's dare to chuck a chair holding Bowser across the table.

"Do you know what time it is?" an elderly, furious man shouted as he burst into the room. "Patients are trying to sleep! Do you realize how much noise you are making!"

The man was an old toad, most likely the same age as Toadsworth. His cap was black with red spots and he had a gray, spiky mustache that divided his face into two hemispheres. Two bushy eyebrows hung above his eyes and perfectly matched the color of his mustache. His beady black eyes squinted and bore into the group like angry drills.

Peach was about to apologize for their behavior, but was interrupted by Daisy, having worked for far too long during the day and exhaustion clouding better judgment within her mind, gave the man a goofy grin and told him, "Right now, you're makin' a lot more noise than we are."

The man stopped for a moment, but went right back to scolding them.

"All of you should have gone home hours ago, when the event had ended!"

"I'd say we haven't been here long enough, eh Peach? Eh? Eh?" Daisy slurred, elbowing the air.

"Diasy? I'm over here." Peach said softly.

Daisy rubbed her eyes and looked at the princess. "Oh, right." She then proceeded to make her way over to the old man, stumbling into various objects as she did so.

The man huffed, his positively quivering as if it were alive and bristling in anger. "I say, this woman isn't even in her right state of mind!"

Daisy scowled and held up her fists. "You wanna tussle, gramps?"

"Wait, wait, wait! Please! Please stop!" Swee T. panicked, rushing into the room and waving her arms wildly. "Nobody fight! Please! Let's just calm down and settle this peacefully."

"These hooligans are being far too loud!"

"Now now, Nass T. Let's just ask them to be a tad bit quieter, okay?" she suggested, turning to the others for support, all of whom nodded.

"Hmph." Nass T. grunted, barely satisfied. "Very well. But they must be on their absolute best behavior, or they will be thrown out!"

Mario stepped forward, holding out his hand for a handshake. "We promise, sir."

"Don't just promise, boy! Do it! Actions speak louder than words."

Mario took a step backward, nodding.

Nass T. looked back and forth between the members of the party, satisfied for the time being.

"Very good. Now hush up!"

When they checked the time again, everyone found that it was 11:26 at night.

"Well, we really should be heading back home now, all of us." Peach suggested yawning.

"Yeah, I'm ready to hit the hay." Luigi agreed, gingerly shaking the sleeping Daisy's shoulders.

The entire group got up from the table and prepared to leave.

But that's when the power went out.

And the nightmare began.

**Whew, that was long, a whole 13 pages or so. But it was fun. Sorry if it started off slow or didn't really seem like a horror story at all, but I wanted to show how the once peaceful atmosphere will turn into a hellish nightmare in just a matter of minutes. Sorry for the boring first chapter.**

**Anyways, you reviews are greatly appreciated. Please help by showing your support, and I will strive to keep putting chapter out.**


	2. Chapter 2

Lend a Hand

Chapter 2

"EEEEEEKKKKKK!" Toadette screeched.  
"Calm down, calm down! The lights just went out!" Yoshi yelled, but his words were lost to most of his friends who couldn't hear over Toadette's shrieking.  
"Well, OBVIOUSLY the lights went out!" Wario said sarcastically after Peach had calmed Toadette down. "We could all tell that. Thanks for warning us though."  
Yoshi glared at him but didn't respond.  
"Hey, settle down." Mario said, putting a hand on Wario's shoulder. He then addressed the rest of the group. "I know we were about to leave, but we should probably check on the patients and make sure that they're alright. It's the right thing to do."  
The others agreed halfheartedly.  
After flashlights had been distributed, they decided to split up into pairs in order to work more efficiently. Luigi, Yoshi, and Swee T. had decided to check out the circuit breaker down in the lower levels of the hospital.  
"A backup generator should have brought power back to the hospital, but, as you can see, it doesn't seem to be working." she explained. "So we'll go check out. We might just need to turn it back on."  
The groups split up and checked every room that had a patient in it.  
However, they noticed something was wrong very quickly.  
Mario and Peach entered one of the patient's rooms. They immediately noticed that it was empty.  
"What?" Peach asked, a puzzled expression on her face. "Isn't there supposed to be a Toad lying in that bed?"  
Mario stepped forward and inspected the bed, the bathroom, and the closet. There was no sign of anybody. The bed looked as though it had just been made. The sheets, blankets, and pillows were completely undisturbed. The closet was empty, and the bathroom was unoccupied.  
Mario stood beside Peach once more and flicked off his flashlight, the rays of moonlight filtering through the window acting as the only source of light in the room. He stood there for a minute, carefully panning his gaze from one side of the room to the other, his brow furrowed in concentration.  
After a while, he spoke. "He's obviously gone, but where? He's paralyzed from the waist down, he couldn't have just walked off. Someone must have taken him..."  
All around the hospital, similar occurrences were taking place.  
"Hellooooo?" Jr. called out to the empty room. He and his father waited for a response, but none came.  
Bowser snorted in frustration. "Lame! Mario has us check these rooms for the patients and they aren't here! Great. More work."  
Wario and Waluigi met up with Toad and Toadette in the hallway.  
"This can't be good. Where are all of the patients?" Toad cried, a sense of uneasiness overwhelming him.  
"If we knew that, then we would have found them already, wouldn't we?" Waluigi snapped.  
"Hey! No need to be rude!" Toadette said.  
"Whatever. Let's just meet up with the rest of those losers." Wario replied, already making his way back.

7Z7Z7Z7

"Hey, we didn't see anyone."  
"Yeah, there was no one-"  
"-completely empty!"  
Everyone had gathered at the front entrance. They had all begun to rant about how all of the patients were missing, but each person was trying to speak above the other voices, making it impossible to clearly make out what anyone was saying.  
Mario was eventually able to silence everyone. "Now," he said. "we all checked the rooms and didn't find anyone, correct?"  
His friends nodded silently.  
"We're going to have to find them." Daisy said. "Something must be seriously wrong if all of theses patients just disappeared."  
"What's going on here? I thought you all would have left by now!"  
The group turned in the direction of the voice. Approaching them from one of the hallways was Nass T., his wrinkly face contorted in anger.  
"I'm sorry, sir. We were going to leave, but I think there is something you should know." Peach calmly said. "All of the patients seem to have vanished!"  
The old Toad just grunted at her. He walked past her and up to another door. "You think I don't know that?! Anyways, this doesn't concern any of you, so I suggest that you all leave immediately!"  
Most of the people there sighed in frustration, but those like Bowser and Wario were already making their way to the front door, ready to leave.  
However, the door wasn't opening.  
"What the?" Bowser said as he tugged on the door. "What's goin' on here? It's stuck!"  
Wario pushed him out of the way. "That's because it's 'push', not 'pull', idiot." Wario proceeded to push the door open, but was surprised when it didn't budge. He threw all of his weight at it, but the door didn't move an inch.  
"It just...takes a little...elbow grease..." he groaned, struggling in futility to open the door.  
"Hey, grumpy guy!" Waluigi pointed at the old Toad accusingly. "What's this, huh? You trapped us in here?"  
Nass T. chuckled humorlessly. "Me? Trap you in here? Why on Earth would I do that? I want all of you gone!"  
"Then how come the door is stuck?" Rosalina asked, a sense of dread overcoming her. It had been there for a while, but this new event had done nothing to quell her fears of something terrible happening soon.  
"How should I know? Now if you'll excuse me..."  
Nass T. pushed open the door. The others saw a momentary expression of shock pass over his face, but it was instantly morphed into an expression of pain and mortal terror as a silver knife was buried into his chest.  
The others watched in horror as a dark figure pulled the elderly janitor through the door way and closed the door after him. Screams could be heard as Nass T. was undoubtedly being murdered on the other side. A moment later the door opened again, and anybody who hadn't already fled now ran, screaming at the top of their lungs.

7Z7Z7Z7

"Are you okay? What happened? Who are you anyway?"  
"Whoa, whoa! Mario! It's just me!"  
"Sorry, Daisy. What happened? Where is everyone?"  
Daisy shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself. When she spoke, her voice was quavering. "I don't know what happened. I guess we all ran off in different directions. They could be anywhere. But more importantly, what the HELL JUST HAPPENED!?"  
Mario grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently. "Calm down, Daisy! Let's just stay calm and figure out what's going on." he said slowly.  
He waited a few moments for her to relax. She leaned on a wall and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.  
"Good. Now, from what we can tell, we are DEFINITELY in danger. Someone in this hospital is most likely trying to kill everyone."  
"But why?"  
"I don't know. We don't even know who it is. Unless you got a good look at him?" Mario asked.  
As he expected, Daisy shook her head. "No. I don't think anyone did. It was dark and nobody shined their flashlight on him. All I saw was that knife..." she shuddered, the memory of Nass T. being stabbed playing through her mind once more.  
"Speaking of darkness, why IS it so dark? I know the lights are off, but what about moonlight? When I was checking rooms on the second floor, I could see outside the windows. But here on the first floor...where are the windows?"  
When Mario mentioned it, she found it to be true. She moved to the side a bit and felt a distinct difference in texture.  
"Mario...I think something's here." she said softly.  
"Do you have your flashlight? I must have dropped mine while I was running."  
Daisy nodded, then remembering that it was too dark for Mario to see her, she flicked it on. Daisy turned around and pointed it at the section of the wall that felt peculiar. She was surprised to see planks of wood nailed into it.  
"It looks like someone boarded up the windows, too." Mario remarked. "Whoever this is, they don't want us to get out of here."  
Daisy shook her head, not wanting to believe any of this.  
"Hey, don't worry. We'll get out of here. We just need to find an exit. Now, obviously, the front door and windows aren't an option. Got any other ideas?"  
Daisy tried to clear her mind and think, but it was impossible to stop thinking about Nass T. She didn't want to admit it, but she was on the verge of tears. How did Mario seem so calm and collected? She held her hand to her forehead as she felt a headache forming. "No, I'm sorry."  
Mario sighed and thought as well. After a moment, he snapped his fingers. "The roof. I saw a fire escape that led from the roof to the second floor. There was a dumpster full of trash just under it. We could jump down into it and escape through there."  
"What about everyone else? We need to find them too!" her voice was rising, and she quickly brought it down again. "I'm not leaving without them. Not without Luigi..." she whispered the last part.  
"We don't have a choice. If we find some along the way we'll take them with us, but when we reach the roof I'm getting you out of here. Then I'll go back and make sure everyone else makes it out."  
"But...but what if he..." A feeling of concern and dread rushed through Daisy. "I'm not leaving you so you can go back in alone."  
"You will. I can handle it."  
Daisy was about to protest, but Mario had continued walking, and her headache had grown more painful, causing her to comply for now.  
They walked for a while in silence. Finally, Daisy asked a question that had been on her mind, one that she feared she already one the answer to.  
"Mario...is Nass T. really..."  
Mario nodded silently, knowing there was no use in lying to her.  
Daisy said nothing and stared at the floor.

7Z7Z7Z7

"W-w-we got away..." Toad stuttered in between sessions of heavy panting.  
"Did you see that? That old guy just got stabbed!" Jr. screamed.  
"Where is everyone else? Did we split up?" Peach asked the other two.  
"I guess. I mean, they aren't here, are they?" Jr. said matter-of-factly. "Where exactly are we anyway?"  
Toad squinted into the darkness, trying to ascertain where his group was. They were in one of the hallways, but that's all he could tell. "All of these halls look the same. How should I know? Plus, it's dark. Anyone have a flashlight?"  
"I do." Peach clicked her flashlight on, but at that moment, the lights suddenly came back on.  
"I guess those three dorks got the power back on." Jr. grumbled, rubbing his eyes in pain as they adjusted to the brightness.  
"I guess we don't need this." Peach said as she turned the flashlight off once more. Then a horrible thought struck her and she gasped.  
"Guys! The murderer! Those three don't know!"  
"We have to tell them! What if he goes after them next!?"  
"Forget that!" Jr. cried. "I'm getting outta here!"  
With that, the little Koopa kid ran ahead. Peach and Toad exchanges worried looks. Unsure of where else to go, they followed him.

7Z7Z7Z7

"Glad the lights came back on, but what the hell are we gonna do?" Wario asked angrily.  
"I don't know!" Bowser yelled in response.  
"Guys! Settle down! He'll hear us!" Toadette whispered. She spun around, certain that she had heard a noise. "WHO'S THERE!" she shrieked, holding her flashlight up like a weapon.  
"What happened to being quiet?" Bowser grumbled.  
"Shut up!" Wario shouted, clamping a hand over Toadette's mouth. "Does anyone know a way out besides the front door?"  
"No."  
"No." Toadette said in a muffled voice.  
Wario sighed in frustration. He just HAD to get stuck with these two dolts. "Fine. Let's walk around and try to find a way out."  
Wario led the group, and, as they walked, Bowser asked a very important question.  
"So, did anybody get a good look at this killer?"  
Toadette shook her head, too paranoid to even speak.  
"No." Wario said, glowering at Toadette as she clung to him and whimpered in fear. "But he can't be one of us. I mean, we were all there at the time."  
"Except for Luigi, Yoshi, and Swee T." Toadette said in barely more than a whisper.  
They all stopped as her words started to sink in. The killer was too tall to be Swee T., but could it have been Luigi or Yoshi?  
"Yeah..." Bowser broke the silence. The party continued on, their fear and suspicions growing by the second.

7Z7Z7Z7

Rosalina couldn't keep running. She stopped and gripped her sides. She was bent over and panting, unable to move or do anything. Perfect prey for the murderer.  
A hand gripped her shoulder. Terror flooded her entire being and she spun around, delivering a mean right hook to her assailant.  
"OUCH! You bitch! I'm only trying to help!"  
"I'm sorry! I thought you were the guy with the knife!"  
Waluigi gripped his nose in pain. It looked a bit crooked, but then again, it always sort of did. Luckily, it wasn't bleeding.  
Rosalina rushed forward to help him, but he rejected her.  
"Whatever!" he growled. "Forget it!"  
Rosalina smiled sheepishly at Waluigi, hoping he wasn't too angry. "Really, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were following me!"  
"I wasn't exactly following you. When that old geezer kicked the bucket, I was just trying to get my ass out of there!"  
Rosalina nodded, cringing as she remembered the old man's death. It was so sudden and quick, there was no time to think.  
'I just ran.' she thought guiltily. 'I didn't even check to see who else made it out of there. I just ran...'  
"So, who was it? Didja see?" Waluigi asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.  
"Huh? Oh, um...no...sorry..." she said, a million thoughts still racing through her head like a swarm of bees.  
"Alright, whatever. Hopefully that bastard isn't on out tail yet. We gotta get outta here. Any ideas?"  
Rosalina tried to think of an escape plan, but she was drawing a blank. "No. Let's just explore and try to find an exit."  
"Sounds better than my plan. Staying here and dying in this hospital." the tall man grumbled as he walked ahead. Rosalina caught up with him.  
"What about the others? Shouldn't we find them first?"  
"Screw the others! I'm saving myself!"  
Rosalina paused, shocked at his behavior. How could he say that!? He would leave his friends to die? How could he?  
Waluigi was already nearing the end of the hall. Rosalina pondered what she should do. Travel with the pessimistic, selfish man and try to escape, or go alone and most likely meet with a grisly fate?  
Rosalina picked the first option. "Wait up!" she called, running after Waluigi.

7Z7Z7Z7

BEFORE NASS T.'s DEATH:  
"...and punched him right in the jaw! DK went flying off the stage and we won the battle!" Yoshi said excitedly. He was recounting the time that he and Luigi had teamed up to fight Pikachu and DK in a Super Smash Bros. tournament.  
Swee T. giggled and stared up at Luigi with wide eyes. "Wow, Luigi! You must be really strong!"  
Luigi scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Nah, it was just a lucky hit."  
The threesome's smiles lingered as they realized they had arrived at their destination.  
"Oh, this is it! The circuit breaker should be just in this room!" the female Toad said. "You guys can start heading back. It will take a minute for me to turn it back on."  
"You sure? We can wait..."  
"No, that's all right. Go catch up with your friends!"  
"All right. See ya!" Yoshi waved to her as she entered the room. Then he and Luigi walked back the way they had come, Luigi already beginning to tell another tale.  
"Now it should be back here..." Swee T. muttered to herself, shining the light from her flashlight over the back wall. She found the metal box and flipped the switches on. She stood with her hands behind her back, patiently waiting for the lights to come back on.  
After a moment, she felt uneasy, as if someone was sneaking up on her, approaching her cautiously in the darkness.  
"Who's there?" she asked, not in a fearful way, but a concerned way. She couldn't feel right if she knew that someone was alone in the dark here. How terribly depressing!  
She caught movement in her flashlight beam and she centered it on the figure.  
"Oh, you're Konnor! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your room, sweetie?" she said in a motherly manner, walking toward the Koopa.  
She hesitated as she noticed the light reflect off of something in his hand, but as soon as she glanced at it, he hid it behind his back.  
"What have you got there?" she asked, though her tone of voice did nothing to mask the suspicion that was beginning to grow within her.  
Suddenly, lights blazed throughout the room and the entire hospital. The Toad covered her eyes in pain. She opened them again and was about to invite the Koopa to follow her back to his room, but he was no longer there.  
A sharp pain pierced the small of her back. She cried out in pain, but was soon cut off. A smooth, unnatural hand had been placed over her mouth.  
"I'm sorry." a deep voice whispered in her ear. "But you are essential to my plan. Just know that I hold no grudge against you."  
The voice did not sound malicious, and, in different circumstances, she would have found it pleasant and relaxing. It truly sounded as if the owner was resentful for what he had just done.  
Swee T. had no idea how to respond.  
She felt the hand remove itself from its position. The pain came again. The sensation was so intense and unbearable that she did not cry out this time. She had no strength to.  
She fell back, but was held up by somebody. Carefully, she was laid down, her wounded back touching the cold floor. She felt the same hand grab hers' and nearly shuddered at its creepy touch. Gingerly, it pulled her away, leading her to an unknown destination.  
She opened her eyes, not sure when or how long they had been closed. She stared at the ceiling and noticed something was different. The lights were off and the ceiling was moving. Quickly, she realized that she must be moving instead, still being dragged somewhere.  
'He must have turned the lights off after he stabbed me...' she thought. She surprised herself. That seemed to have been the only thing she thought since he had attacked her.  
Her life drained by the seconds and she closed her eyes again, hoping, wishing, praying for a quick death. The pain was still with her, and it seemed to have no intention of leaving.  
Eventually, she felt herself propped against a wall. She opened her eyes once more to find Konnor kneeling before her, the knife in his hand still wet with her blood.  
She stared into his eyes and was surprised to see not anger or psychotic joy, but sorrow and pain. Even more shocking, she found herself feeling sorry for the man and not harboring any anger towards him.  
He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, his lips barely brushing her ear.  
"I'm sorry."  
He plunged the knife once more, this time into her stomach. Again, she did not make a sound. He used her blood to make a trail from her to a door across the hall. When he had finished he opened the other door, then turned around and closed the door to her room.  
Swee T. knew only one thing. She had to warn someone. With no other choice, she slowly reached into the fresh wound in her stomach. She grimaced in pain and subconsciously remembered her teacher in medical school specifically telling her NOT to do this sort of thing. But it didn't matter anyway. She knew she would be dead soon.  
With her remaining strength, she drew a symbol on the floor with the red liquid, then closed her eyes and fell into her final slumber.

**I sort of felt like that was a short chapter. But it was more exciting than the first, right? Anyways, please review and let me know what you think! Also, you might be wondering why I made Swee T. not really seem to care that she died. I just wanted to emphasize how kind she is, so kind that she can't really hate him.**


	3. Chapter 3

Lend a Hand  
Chapter 3

**Hey! Just wanted to say that certain parts of this chapter can get pretty gory and disturbing, so be warned! Enjoy the chapter!**

"Oh, that's just PERFECT! The damn lights went out again!"  
Waluigi kicked the wall in frustration. He regretted it a moment later as he hopped around on one foot, holding his injured foot. Rosalina moved toward him, but he waved her away.  
"Gah, forget it! We're screwed anyway!"  
Rosalina opened her mouth, prepared to protest, but she closed it and stared at the floor. Maybe he was right. Maybe they didn't stand a chance against this mystery killer.  
"No." she said, regaining confidence. "We can make it out. We just need to keep searching for an exit. Maybe we can find someone else along the way."  
"I don't know how you can be so positive..." Waluigi shook his head and threw up his hands. "Fine, whatever. Might as well go down fighting, eh?"  
Rosalina nodded, happy that Waluigi hadn't totally given up yet.  
"So, where to now?"  
Rosalina looked around. They no longer had a flashlight, so it was hard to see in the dark. She squinted as she noticed something at the far end of the hall.  
"I see a light."  
"What?"  
"A light! Over there!" she ran towards the faint glow of moonlight, nearly tripping over herself.  
"Hey! Don't just charge off like that!" Waluigi panted as he stopped by her side.  
The two were at the bottom of a flight of stairs. The light they had seen was coming from a window at the top of the stairwell.  
The two exchanged brief glances. Then they dashed up the steps two at a time.  
When they reached the window, they pressed their faces up against the glass, almost feeling safe in the light. The window at the top was wide. It looked out over the parking lot. No cars were parked there except for theirs. The pair watched as a car drove by the hospital, the driver oblivious to the terror occurring within the building.  
Rosalina looked down at the parking lot again. They could jump out the window...and save the murderer the trouble of killing them. She doubted that they would survive the fall from the second story height. It didn't look like much of a distance from the ground, but from their perspective, it was a suicide drop.  
"Well, I guess we can't jump..." Rosalina sighed.  
Waluigi growled in frustration. "I swear, when I find that bastard, I'm gonna tear him limb from limb..."  
"Yeah..." she replied wistfully, her heart sinking as she realized their inevitable fate.  
It took Rosalina a minute to notice that he was missing.  
"W...Waluigi...?" she whispered, cautiously making her way to the other end of the hall.  
She walked by many rooms, expecting each door to be flung open and for her to be killed in an instant. That didn't happen, though.  
However, if she had peered into the window of a particular room, she may have noticed two figures, one strapped to a table, and the other standing next to him.  
Waluigi's eyes fluttered open as he regained consciousness. He had a splitting headache. It felt like someone had bashed his head with a metal bat. Repeatedly. He tried to move his hand to his forehead, but he couldn't. He looked down to find his wrists bound to a metal table along with his legs.  
He struggled, but to no avail. They were locked firmly in place. He was trapped.  
He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and he spun his head toward it. A Koopa was approaching him, his one and only hand clutching a knife.  
"W-who are you?" Waluigi's voice cracked. He had meant to sound aggressive and tough, but the truth was, he was scared out of his mind.  
"I see you're no longer acting tough." he said calmly. "Nothing can change a person's attitude quicker than fear. No one can avoid fear. It leeches off of your heart and mind like a parasite, always present in one way or another."  
"Shut up! Let me go!" Waluigi screamed and struggled again. His heart pounded as the Koopa moved closer to him. He stopped right next to him, and Waluigi's heart threatened to burst from his chest. His eyes grew wider as the knife was raised. He shut his eyes, his life flashing before his eyes.  
Pain shot through his body as the knife dug into his wrist. Blood spurted from the wound, spraying over both of the men's faces. Waluigi screamed again as the knife struck the same area, this time cutting through the rest of his flesh and hitting bone.  
Waluigi felt his throat grow raw from his yelling. Darkness clouded his eyes and the sounds of Konnor's chopping faded. Waluigi died before his hand became completely detached from his body.  
Konnor smiled and wiped some of Waluigi's blood off of his face. He moved to the other side of the corpse and proceeded to hack away at his left hand as well, not stopping until he had cut it off completely.  
When he had finished, he collected the pair of hands and left the room, leaving the skinny man's body behind.

7Z7Z7Z7

"Well, the windows are a no-go." Bowser commented. They had checked all of the windows on the second floor, but all of them meant death if they were to jump out of them.  
"That sucks. Well, onto plan B." Wario clapped his hands and led the party confidently ahead.  
"W-w-which is...?" Toadette said softly, pointing her flashlight this way and that, expecting something to jump out at any moment.  
"We walk around and pray that we can find an exit." Wario said, lowering Toadette's flashlight that had been shining in his face.  
Bowser shrugged and trudged along. Then he perked up, an idea forming.  
"Isn't there a back door or something on the first floor? That's where Jr. and I had stashed our-uh-never mind! The point is, I still have the key I tricked that nurse into lending me. We can use that to escape!"  
Wario growled angrily and stormed towards Bowser. "You had a key this whole time...AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US!?"  
Bowser was taken aback for a moment, but he got up in Wario's face, returning his glare.  
"Hey, don't yell at me, fatso! With everything that happened, I forgot, okay? I bet you wouldn't have remembered!"  
As the two argued, Toadette kept watch, frequently turning and jumping at movement that she had only imagined. Eventually, she noticed a figure step out from behind a wall that led to an adjacent hall. She nearly ran in terror until she recognized him.  
"Guys...guys, I think that's Luigi!" she said excitedly as she ran towards him. The other two stopped talking abruptly and turned to face her.  
She ran towards him and grabbed his hand, holding him close. She sobbed into his shoulder, words about her worrying about everyone hardly distinguishable between her sniffles and tears.  
It took her a minute to realize that something was wrong. The hand she was clutching felt unnaturally smooth. It possessed no warmth or pulse. It felt like the hand of somebody long dead. She slowly looked up at the face of the person she was holding.  
It wasn't Luigi.  
"I...I'm so sorry...I thought you were my friend..." she whispered, backing away slowly. She had never seen the Koopa before in her life, but she felt that something about him was...odd. His face showed no expression, yet that freaked her out more than anything.  
"Toadette..." Wario warned. "Get away from him..."  
She just stared at the man. Her gaze floated down to his hand, the only hand he had. It was fake and unrealistic, but her eyes widened as she saw what was held in it.  
He raised the knife, and a drop of blood ran down the blade, down the hilt, down his arm, and fell onto his face. That's when he smiled and brought it down.  
Toadette yelped and flinched, but she wasn't hurt. She looked up to see Bowser standing over her, the knife in his arm instead.  
"Go! Just go!" he screamed back at her. He pushed Konnor off of him and clutched his wound.  
Toadette didn't think. She just ran.  
"H-hey!" Wario called after her. He looked back at Bowser, then at Toadette as she fled. He shook his head and followed the female Toad.  
Bowser punched Konnor as he lunged at him with the knife. He flew backwards into another room, and Bowser followed.  
When he entered, he looked around wildly for the Koopa, but it was difficult to see in the pitch black darkness.  
He heard a thud behind him and he spun in the direction. A cabinet had toppled over, blocking the doorway.  
"What nice hands you have."  
Bowser spun around again, raising his fist, prepared to strike the owner of the voice if he appeared.  
"Would you mind lending me a hand?"  
Bowser backed himself into a corner on case the Koopa would attempt to sneak up on him. His heart rate quickened with each passing second. He heard sounds of shuffling and thumping coming from other areas of the room, but he didn't dare leave his position and risk being attacked from behind.  
Minutes passed, but they felt like hours. Eventually, Bowser's adrenaline rush ended and he sunk to the ground, exhausted. He held his left arm in front of himself and tried to inspect the wound in the darkness.  
A shadowy outline moved on front of him, and before Bowser could jump up, he was assaulted with the knife again.  
Bowser roared in agony and attempted to fight the attacker off, but the pain was just too much for him. The Koopa king fell back once more, gasping for air. New wounds appeared on his body as Konnor continued to butcher him, blood blossoming from each and trickling toward the floor, creating a red pool.  
Bowser thought only of his children as he died, praying that they would never feel the kind of pain he was feeling now.

7Z7Z7Z7

Konnor stood up, his task completed.  
_'Good job.'_ It commended_. 'You're getting better at this.'_  
Konnor nodded excitedly, but frowned. Maybe it wasn't right to kill these people...  
_'We already talked about this, remember?' It said threateningly. 'You do as I say, or...YOU GET PUNISHED!'_  
Konnor doubled over in pain as his hand twitched violently, disobeying his commands for it to stop. He bashed his head against the wall as It began to sing a cheerful tune, clearly enjoying the pain it was causing to him. When It was done, it fell silent, the hand stopping with it.  
Konnor panted and slowly raised his hand to his head. He looked at the palm, covered in blood that he couldn't feel. He brought it to his mouth and tasted it.  
_'Yuck.'_ he and It thought in unison. Konnor hated the taste of his own blood. So did It.  
He glanced at the corpse beside him. He raised the knife to his mouth and licked it as well.  
_'Better' _they thought. It wasn't the taste that was important. It was the meaning behind it. He had killed someone, spilled their blood, demonstrated his dominance over them, proving that he wasn't handicapped or weak. He enjoyed that. So did It.  
But what they 'really' enjoyed were the hands. Konnor stared at Bowser's now severed hands, hands that were normal, unlike his. He had always wanted a pair of hands, but he was stuck with his fake, senseless hand, the thing that had given birth to It.  
_'Don't be that way. _It said. The horrible, grotesque image of It appeared in his head once more. _With me around, you've accomplished more than you ever could have alone. Now, you have two pairs of hands!'_  
Konnor grinned. It was right. But was it enough.  
_'No. We need more. Borrow more'._ With that, It faded, leaving the hand limp and lifeless.  
Konnor rested his head on the floor for a moment, exhausted. Then, he grabbed the knife in his mouth and pushed the cabinet away with his body.  
Time to find someone willing to lend him a hand.

**Hope you liked it! To be honest, I don't think that I really did my best for this chapter. I've sort of lost motivation for this fic, but it's slowly and steadily returning to me. Sorry if it was a little short, also. I just felt that two deaths plus a creepy, psycho scene was enough for one chapter. Also, tell me what character you want to survive. I know it's a little early to be thinking this, but I was thinking of making a sequel to this fic, and I **_**might **_**be influenced to keep a character alive for it. Anyways, please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Lend a Hand

**Hey guys! This next chapter is a little longer than I expected, but whatever. Enjoy!**

"The roof should be just up here." Mario said as he and Daisy ascended the stairwell.  
Daisy struggled to keep her eyes open. She had been up for hours, and her mind was ready to rest. It was sort of strange that, even after everything that happened, her mind was still trying to go about its normal schedule.  
"Daisy? You coming?"  
Daisy shook herself awake and looked at Mario. He was waiting for her by a metal door.  
"Y...yeah..." she said softly. Together, they pushed open the door and walked out onto the roof.  
The moon shone down on them as soon as they stepped out and they shielded their eyes. They had been in such thick darkness that even the soft glow of moonlight blinded them. When their eyes had adjusted to the change in lighting, they gasped at what they saw.  
A Koopa was standing at the other end of the roof, a power saw in his hand. He used it to slice the railing of the rusty fire escape. It hung on by one railing, but was no longer usable.  
Mario and Daisy no longer had a way to escape.  
When he had finished, he looked at them.  
"Oh, hello. I've been expecting you."  
A surge of anger swept through Mario. He grit his teeth and stepped forward, pointing at Konnor accusingly. "You're the one who killed Nass T., aren't you?"  
He smiled wryly. "Not only him. All of your other friends as well."  
Mario was taken aback. His mouth hung agape and his face paled. "A...all of them?"  
The killer nodded.  
"You're lying..." Mario said in a low voice. He didn't sound too confident.  
Konnor raised his knife. Mario cringed at the sight of the blood staining it, the crimson liquid seeming to glow eerily in the moonlight. It was enough to prove that he had indeed killed them.  
Daisy shook her head in disbelief and muttered to herself. Her sanity was hanging by a thread, and the news of all of her friends being dead did nothing to help.  
Mario stood tall and determined, staring at the murderer. Without turning around he said, "Daisy, go back inside. Find a way out."  
This snapped Daisy back to reality. "What about you?"  
"I'm going to stay here...and kill him..."  
Daisy opened her mouth in protest, but Mario spun around quickly. He opened the door they had come through and shoved Daisy through it. She let out a gasp of surprise as she stumbled down the stairs. She tripped a few stairs from the landing and fell painfully on her face. She turned around to see Mario's face one last time. A grim expression was painted on his face, and a moment later, the door slammed shut, returning her to the darkness's lonely embrace.  
Mario slowly turned back to Konnor. He was standing at the other end of the roof, knife in hand, a calm expression on his face.  
Mario took a deep breath, not sure what would become of him. "Now, let's settle this."  
Instantly, Konnor's expression morphed into a psychopathic, twisted smile. He rushed at Mario with the knife and took a jab at his stomach, but Mario dodged. The plumber barely had enough time to move before Konnor struck at him again. This time, Mario wasn't as lucky.  
He skipped back and checked his arm. A thin crimson sliver had appeared through the sliced fabric of his sleeve. He gripped his injured arm for a moment before running from Konnor again.  
"Come back here!" the crazy Koopa shouted. Mario risked a brief glance backward. Konnor was right behind him, swinging his knife left and right, barely missing him.  
Mario sidestepped to the left quickly, and Konnor sped past him. He skid to a stop and turned around, just in time for Mario to deliver a punch to his face.  
The mad man went down with a grunt of pain, his knife clattering to the floor. Mario rushed towards it.  
Konnor sprang up and kicked Mario's legs out from under him, causing the hero to fall on his back. In one fluid motion, he scooped the knife off of the floor and pounced at Mario. He rolled out of the way just in time, and the weapon connected with the ground instead of his chest.  
As soon as he was up again he tackled Konnor, sending both of them to the floor. The knife fell out of the man's grasp once more and slid away from him, far out of his reach. He struggled with Mario, trying to push him off, but it was futile. Mario drew back his fist and brought it down on Konnor's face. He did the same with his other fist and repeated, unleashing a volley of strikes onto the murderer.  
Just as he thought that Konnor was going to pass out, he heard him gasp out two words that he couldn't identify.  
With a sudden burst of strength, Mario felt himself fall backwards. He stood up again, ready to fight, but was surprised at what he saw.  
Konnor was lying on the ground, bruised and bloodied, and he was crying. He looked at his hand and began to weep more, cursing and hyperventilating.  
Mario cautiously approached him, his fists still raised in case this was a trick. He stopped in front of him, but wasn't sure what to say or do. Finally, Konnor spoke.  
"P-please...just end this...I can't go on living with this...thing!" He smashed his hand into the ground multiple times. Mario was shocked at this sudden shift in behavior.  
"What thing?" he asked slowly.  
"It's not me..." Konnor said, more tears welling up in his eyes. "I swear, it's not me! It made me do it...It made me kill them..."  
Mario stared at the broken man, a strange feeling overwhelming him. Konnor looked into Mario's eyes, and he understood that Konnor wasn't lying. Whatever had made him do this, it couldn't have been real, just something that he had created out of the fear and darkness of his mind. Nevertheless, he needed help. He could still be rescued.  
Mario clenched his fists in anger. This man had killed his friends. He couldn't just let that go. He needed to pay for his crimes.  
Mario took another step forward, prepared to end the killer's life. He stared into Konnor's eyes again, hatred building up. Suddenly, it was devoured by another emotion, one he couldn't quite comprehend. The two feelings collided and mixed, making it impossible for Mario to think straight.  
He unclenched his fists and hung his head low. He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill someone.  
Instead, he extended his hand out to Konnor, offering to help him up.  
"I can't forgive you for what you've done, but I couldn't forgive myself if I killed someone. I'm going to let you live, but know this; you WILL pay for what you've done. In life, and in death. Both have a place for people like you."  
Konnor nodded. He lifted his hand, but instead of reaching for Mario's hand, he grabbed the power saw he had been using earlier. In a flash, it sliced Mario's hand clean off.  
Mario screamed in pain and clutched the bloody stump where his hand used to be. His breathing quickened as he stared at his severed hand that had fallen to the floor, a pool of blood forming around it.  
Mario's vision became blurry and he grew dizzy. Time seemed to be distorted as he watched Konnor slowly walk towards him, his image appearing and disappearing in a staccato rhythm.  
Just as Mario thought he was about to die, he felt the Koopa grip his shirt. He dragged him a few feet away towards the edge of the roof.  
"I know where I'm going, but it's not my time yet. Prepare a spot for me there, would you?"  
With that he pushed Mario off the side, knocking him into the fire escape that was barely hanging to the wall, sending both of them crashing down.  
Mario's life flashed before his eyes. Parties, his friends, his many adventures. Each flashed in his mind in quick succession, showing him moments of his life that he would never be able to build upon again.  
The last image that appeared in his head was a photo of all of his friends. Peach had insisted that the gang take a picture outside of the hospital in memory of the good deed they had accomplished. All of them had bunched together and smiled genuinely, even Bowser and the Wario brothers. The sunset had illuminated their faces in a golden light. Mario had thought the picture had looked sappy and cheesy at the time, but Peach had loved it.  
_'Don't you see why this is so important to me, Mario?' she had asked him, smiling at the photo. 'This shows all of our friends, together, having a good time! Don't you see how valuable that is? We may never get another chance to be together like this again.'  
Mario had only sighed, shaking his head and smiling faintly at Peach's enthusiasm.  
'Peach, it's only a picture. We have plenty of them. Why so sentimental with this one?'  
She turned to Mario, her eyes shining with unshed tears. 'Because none of the other ones have all of us in it. None of the other ones are as truly happy as this one.'_  
Mario smiled briefly as his eyes closed for the last time. The image of the photo was locked in his mind's eye, his most precious memory in his final moments.  
'See you guys soon...'

7Z7Z7Z7

Konnor watched as Mario's body plummeted to the ground. When the corpse hit the floor, he burst into laughter.  
What a fool! He died believing that all of his friends were dead, that he would be joining them soon. How stupid!  
When Konnor's laughter had subsided, he touched the many bruises on his face. Although he had meant for the plumber to be a simple victim, he had done some damage.  
No matter. It would all be over soon. He just needed to kill a few more, and then he could have her all to himself...  
He retrieved his knife and Mario's hand from the floor. He frowned at the latter in a disappointed way. It was a shame he had only gotten one.  
He glanced off the side again, staring at the dead body below.  
"See you in hell." He spit off the edge and turned around, walking back to the door that led inside.

7Z7Z7Z7

EARLIER:

"I say that we find some weapons first, you know just in case that bad guy finds us."  
"No! We need to find a way out of here first! Think about the princess!"  
Peach sighed as Toad and Bowser Jr. argued. She already had a headache, but their constant bickering had made it even worse.  
"No way! We need to fight fire with fire!" Jr. countered. "If he comes at us with a knife, what are we gonna use to defend ourselves?"  
"We won't need to defend ourselves if we can get out of here first!"  
"GUYS! Just be quiet!" Peach finally snapped. "He's definitely going to find us with you two yelling at each other! Let's just focus on looking for an exit."  
Toad smirked at Jr., a look of triumph on his face. Jr. returned his glance with a scowl.  
"Fine. But you guys are making a big mistake."  
Peach sighed and rubbed her temples. If the murderer didn't kill her, her headache would.  
The three continued down the hall, searching everywhere for an exit. Finally, Jr. grew too impatient.  
"We aren't finding anything! I'm gonna go look for a weapon. At least we'll have something to use when he attacks us."  
Peach reached out to stop him, but he had already flung open the nearest door. He took a few steps inside, but stopped.  
"Bleah! What am I standing in?" he said in disgust.  
Toad shined his flashlight into the room, and they all froze in terror at what they saw.  
Jr. was standing two feet from Bowser's body, a pool of blood surrounding his feet. The light shone off of the dead Koopa King's lifeless eyes. What was truly disturbing were the bloody stumps where his hands once were, sharp pieces of cut bone protruding from them.  
Peach rushed forward and dragged Jr. out of the room, but she was too late. He had already seen his murdered father.  
At first Jr. did nothing, just stared over Peach's shoulder at his father. Then tears formed and he sobbed, burrowing his face into Peach's shoulder. She did her best to calm him down, whispering comforting words to him, but she was equally as frightened. Her own tears fell on Jr.'s head as she did her best to suppress her own crying.  
Toad stared at the body, his mouth hanging open in shock. He slowly closed the door and put his back to it, sliding down to the floor and covering his face with his hands.  
When Jr. had finally calmed down a bit, the party continued on without another word, aimlessly wandering, the horrific vision still imprinted in their heads.

7Z7Z7Z7

Minutes passed, but it seemed more like hours. Eventually, the party of three made it to the end of a hallway. They were about to turn a corner, but Toad glanced up.  
"Guys...guys! I think I found a way out!"  
The other two stopped and looked to where he was pointing. A grate was located on the wall near the ceiling protecting an air vent.  
"I think your right. But we can't reach it." Peach commented solemnly.  
Toad looked around until he spotted a janitor's closet. He opened the door and pulled out a few boxes. He placed them in front of the wall.  
"Now we do. Peach, could you go fetch that hammer in there to break the vent cover? Even with the boxes, you're the only one who can reach it."  
She nodded and ran into the room. She quickly returned with the hammer and climbed onto the boxes. She banged on the metal covering a few times before it finally fell away. She pulled herself into the air vent and reached her hand out to pull the other two in. Jr. went first, then Toad followed. Once they were all in, they crawled through the narrow tunnel.  
After a few seconds, the party came across a fork in the road. The tunnel branched off into two directions.  
"What do we do now?" Jr. sniffled.  
Toad thought for a minute. Either way could be the exit. Or neither of them. Finally, he came to a conclusion.  
"I'll go right, you two go left. If one of us makes it outside, set off a car alarm. That way the other can hear and know where to go."  
"What about everyone else?" Peach asked.  
Toad cursed under his breath. He had completely forgotten about them.  
"We don't even know if anyone is still alive. If one of us is still left in here, then...we'll figure something out. We're just wasting time now. Let's go." he said impatiently.  
They went their separate ways without another word. After a few more minutes of crawling, Toad found another metal grate. He kicked at it a few times before it came off. He hopped out and found himself in another room of the hospital. He sighed in frustration, clearly crestfallen.  
Suddenly, he heard the faint sound of an alarm, and he smiled to himself. The other two had made it out.  
He turned back to the air duct, but spotted something nearby. It was a PA system.  
He rushed towards it and activated it, surprised that it still worked.  
"H...hello?" he tested. He heard his voice talking in many different areas, echoing off the walls.  
With a burst of hope he said, "Is anyone else there? Is anyone else still alive! Please, listen! We've found a way out! At the end of hallway F-1, there's an air vent. Climb in and go left when you reach a split in the path. You'll be out soon. Peach and Jr. are already out."  
The longer he talked, the more complicated he felt. Was anyone else hearing this? Were they already safely outside? Was the car alarm just a coincidence and his two friends were still stuck inside? He didn't know.  
He shook his head. He had to believe that they were safe.  
"Please, if any of you are still alive, save yourselves." he said, his voice choking as he remembered Bowser's lifeless body.  
When he had finished, he turned back to leave, but found that the vent was too high up for him to reach and that there was nothing around to help him reach it. He sighed and opened the door exiting the room. He was immediately greeted by a flood of moonlight coming in through the long row of windows throughout the hallway he was currently in. He decided to go right, hoping that that was the direction he had come in. When he reached the end of the hall, another figure turned the corner. As soon as he saw a glint of silver in their hand, he turned and sprinted the other way.  
Konnor wasn't far behind him, and Toad knew that he wouldn't be able to lose him. He glanced at the windows to his right and made an instantaneous decision. He would rather splat onto the ground and die then endure whatever torture this mad man had planned for him. He didn't want to suffer the same fate as Bowser.  
He leaped to the right and broke through the window, glass shattering and falling all around him. Wind rushed by his ears as he plummeted to the earth. Pain flowed through him as he landed.  
Slowly, he opened his eyes, surprised that he was still conscious, still alive, but only barely.  
He was cut and impaled by dozens of glass shards all over his body, some sunk deeper into his body when they were pinned between the ground and his body. His legs and arms were twisted at an unnatural angle and he knew that they were broken.  
Suddenly, memories came back to him, memories that he had long forgotten, some that he wished would stay forgotten.  
He put his palm to his face as the pain became too much. He closed his eyes and thought about what he had just remembered, the images still buzzing through his deactivating consciousness.

7Z7Z7Z7

EARLIER:

Toadette tripped and fell over, whimpering as she hit the ground. She curled up and cried, wanting more than anything to wake up from this nightmare.  
She felt a hand grip her shoulder and she jumped.  
"No!" she shrieked, trying her best to attack the person.  
"Calm down! Calm down!" Wario stepped away from her, not wanting to get slapped.  
She stopped when she heard his voice. Still quivering in fear, she asked, "What happened? What did I do? Did Bowser...?"  
Wario nodded grimly. Then he punched the wall in fury.  
"Dammit! Why is this happening to us!?"  
This did nothing to help calm Toadette's nerves. She started shaking more and crying. Wario looked at her and made a decision.  
"Fuck this." he said, walking to a fire extinguisher on the wall. He yanked it from its position and held it firmly in his hands. He turned back to where he had come from, waiting.  
"W-w-what are y-you gonna d-do?" Toadette stuttered.  
"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch, that's what I'm gonna do!" he growled, readying his make shift weapon.  
They stood there for a few minutes, neither knowing exactly what to do. Finally, the sound of footsteps echoed off of the walls. When Konnor appeared at the end of the hall, Toadette screamed and ran. Wario stood his ground as the killer ran at him.  
When he was near enough, Wario sprayed him with the chemicals, unleashing a blast of white at him.  
This stunned Konnor and forced him to the floor. Wario inched forward, spraying him all the while. He drew back the fire extinguisher itself and bashed Konnor in the head with it.  
He stopped moving and Wario hit him again for good measure. When he was sure that Konnor was down for the count, he tossed the fire extinguisher to the side.  
"Dumb ass." he muttered, turning his back and walking away.  
A sharp pain pierced his back, multiple times. Finally, Wario fell to the floor, yelling as the knife sunk into his stomach instead.  
"That's impossible!" he said between stabs. How could he still be walking after those hits?  
When Wario had been silenced, Konnor went to work again, hacking away at the fat man's wrists. When he had finished, he turned to where Toadette had gone.

7Z7Z7Z7

Toadette opened the nearest door and slammed it shut behind her. She leaned on it as she tried to slow her heart beat. For several minutes she stood there, the memory of Bowser being cut instead of her and Konnor appearing at the end of the hall replaying over and over in her head.  
Finally, she calmed down, only to be startled again by the sound of the door being pounded on.  
Hastily, she locked the door and backed away. She saw the doorknob shake as the person on the other side attempted to get in. The banging started up again and stopped as the thin window on the door shattered.  
Toadette's heart skipped a beat as the narrow window allowed Konnor's eye to peek in.  
"You know you can't escape. You'll live in fear of me until I finally kill you. Which shouldn't be far from now."  
His eye swiveled to the right. "Over there, there's a knife."  
Toadette looked at the table next to her. A surgical knife was resting on the table next to an operating table.  
"Use that to end it, right here, right now. Kill yourself, and you won't have to fear what I have in store for you."  
With that, he vanished from the doorway, but she knew that he was still waiting nearby in case she attempted to make a run for it.  
Toadette slowly picked up the knife and stared at it. He was right. She was scared out of her mind, but she could end it now. If she committed suicide, she could get out of this hole of fear that had engulfed her.  
She raised it to her throat, but hesitated. Stab or slice? Throat of stomach? What was the easiest way out?  
She began to sob again.  
'I'm such a coward!' she thought. 'But I have to do this...'  
She raised the knife to her throat once more, deciding to slit it. She pressed the blade to her neck, but stopped again as she heard a voice.  
"H...hello?"  
It was Toad, her boyfriend, the person she cared about the most in the world. As he spoke, telling her that there was an exit, she slowly, lowered the knife until it slipped out of her grasp and fell to the floor.  
"Dammit..." she heard Konnor mutter as Toad finished his message. She heard the sound of his footsteps running outside and listened as they faded away.  
Carefully, she opened the door and looked out both ways. Nobody was there anymore.  
She ran out and made her way to the place Toad had talked about, hope welling up within her.

7Z7Z7Z7

MUCH EARLIER:

"What do you think happened?" Yoshi asked Luigi. The lights had suddenly switched off just after they had turned them on.  
Luigi shrugged. "Dunno. Can't hurt to go back and check though, right?"  
Yoshi nodded and the two turned back and walked the way they had come.  
When they reached the breaker room, they noticed a trail of blood leading out of it.  
"What the...? Is that what I think it is?" Yoshi asked.  
Luigi bent down and took a closer look. The blood was still wet.  
"Swee T.!" he called out. No reply. He tried again, but she still didn't answer him.  
"Not good." he muttered and took off down the hall, Yoshi close behind.  
When they reached the point where the path split into two blood trails, one leading into a door on the left and another on the right, they were confused.  
"What is going on here?" Yoshi asked, looking between the two doors.  
"Swee T. may be in trouble. You look in that one, I'll look in here."  
Yoshi nodded and went into the left door, Luigi going into the other.  
Luigi walked to the back of the room and saw her. Swee T. was dead, propped against the back wall, multiple stab wounds on her body. Next to her was an arrow drawn in blood. And it was pointing to...  
"Yoshi!" Luigi called, a sense of dread overwhelming him.  
Yoshi walked into the room and was immediately knocked unconscious as a metal bar struck his head.  
Konnor closed the door and pushed a table in front of it. He then moved Yoshi onto the operating table and strapped him in place.  
Luigi banged helplessly on the door as he watched Konnor lock Yoshi onto the table. Through the small window on the door, he saw Yoshi's eyes flutter open just as Konnor brought his knife into his wrist.  
"No!" Luigi screamed, kicking at the door with all his might. After a few good kicks, he broke the lock. Again, he tried to push the door open, but a table was blocking the way. He glanced through the window again to see Konnor slicing Yoshi's other hand off, his left hand already detached and lying beside him. Somehow, Yoshi was still alive, but he was probably wishing he wasn't.  
Finally, Luigi was able to push open a wide enough gap. He squeezed through the opening and charged at Konnor. He dodged and ran out of the room through another exit, Yoshi's hands in his possession.  
When he had left, Luigi ran to Yoshi's side. The green dinosaur was gasping for air, struggling to keep his eyes open.  
"Yoshi..." Luigi knew that he couldn't do anything for him. Yoshi had lost too much blood and was going into shock.  
Silently, Yoshi looked into Luigi's eyes and died, unable to say what he had wanted to.  
Luigi shrank to the floor, pounding at it and cursing. His friend had died before his eyes, murdered, and he could do nothing but watch.  
Luigi realized that the killer was still out there, and that his friends were in danger. He raced out of the room, intent on getting revenge and saving his friends.

7Z7Z7Z7

MUCH LATER:

Daisy stumbled down another corridor, hoping to find the place that Toad had mentioned.  
After she had been separated from Mario, she had wandered aimlessly, just trying to get as far away from where they had been as possible. Somehow she knew that Mario wasn't going to win. Whether it was the last look he had given her or the fact that Konnor was a dangerous psychopath, she didn't know, but she knew that Mario was gone.  
She felt faint again and leaned on the wall for support, her hand accidentally pushing the down button on an elevator.  
She wasn't surprised when it didn't come. Instead, she continued walking.  
She thought about her friends and wondered if any of them had already escaped.  
_'I hope they're alright.'_ she thought, hugging herself tightly.  
A door opened behind her and she jumped, startled. A figure walked out, not noticing her at first. Then he saw her and they stated at each other for a moment.  
It was Konnor.  
Daisy started running before he even had a chance to recognize her. Nevertheless, he still chased after her, intent on killing her.  
Daisy ran, turned corners, dashed through rooms, and swung doors closed behind her, hoping to stall him. She didn't dare turn to check if he was still behind her, so she just kept running.  
Eventually, she ended up on hallway F-1, the same hall that Toad had talked about. She felt her heart race as she sprinted down the hallway. She clambered onto the boxes and threw herself into the vent, just as Konnor rounded the corner. She crawled and crawled until she reached the fork. She took a left and crawled more, finally reaching the outside.  
Daisy stood up and stared at the sky, finding it almost impossible to believe that she had made it out of that nightmare in one piece. She looked around and tried to determine where she was, but gasped at what she saw.  
Twelve yards away, she saw Jr. lying on the gravel in the parking lot, crying. A few feet away from him was a fire escape that must have fallen. But underneath it was Princess Peach, the lower half of her body nearly severed from her top and crushed beneath it. Mario's dead body was also there, lying on the fire escape, missing a hand.  
She approached Jr., unable to look away from the morbid sight.  
"Jr...what happened?"  
He glanced at her, his eyes puffy and red from excessive crying. He tried his best to speak, but he couldn't form any words. But it wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. The fire escape had fallen and crushed Peach. She had pushed him out of the way to save him, sacrificing herself.  
Daisy stared again at the wreck and felt herself fall back. She couldn't take it. Peach and Mario were both dead and who knows how many else. Her head struck a car and the alarm went off, but it didn't matter to her. Her friends were dead, and her life would never be the same.  
'Luigi...' she thought as she fainted. 'Please be okay.'

7Z7Z7Z7

Konnor cursed as he watched Daisy crawl through the vent. He couldn't go after her. There was still work to be done.  
He glanced at the ground and noticed that Daisy had dropped something. He bent down and picked it up.  
It was her cellphone. She must have forgotten that she had it, and it must have fallen out of her pocket as she was running.  
He looked through her pictures. Many of them were pictures of her with her friends, but a majority of them included the green capped plumber he had seen earlier. From what he could tell, she cared about him very much.  
He smiled sinisterly and scrolled through her contacts until he reached Luigi. He dialed the number and waited for him to pick up.  
Eventually, he heard his voice at the other end. "Daisy? Oh thank God your okay! I totally forgot about my cellphone, I'm such an idiot! Anyways, do you know if anybody else is still...alive? Where are you?"  
When he had finished talking, Konnor responded.  
"Ah, so you haven't come across any of the other bodies, I take it? That's a shame. I think my art should be appreciated."  
Luigi's tone quickly changed. "You! What have you done with Daisy, you twisted bastard!"  
Konnor leaned against the wall casually. "Why don't you find out? Go to room T-2. We'll be waiting."  
He hung up and continued on his way, intent on finding his target.  
Meanwhile, Luigi roared in fury and chucked his phone at the wall, instantly regretting it when he realized he could have called the police with it.  
If didn't matter anyways. The police couldn't help now. If he wanted to save Daisy, he would have to do it on his own. Luigi knew it was a trap, but he went anyways, planning all of the ways he could kill Konnor.

7Z7Z7Z7

Rosalina sighed in relief as she saw the sign that read 'F-1'. She was almost out of this hellhole.  
"Rosalina?"  
She spun around when she heard her name being called. She was frightened at first, but then a smile spread across her face.  
"Konnor? Oh, thank God you're all right!" she ran towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Listen, this may be hard to believe, but there's a murderer running around here. There's an exit just down this hall. Let's get out of here!"  
She spun around to leave, but Konnor caught her arm.  
"No." he said in a low voice.  
"What? Look, I know it sounds crazy, but-"  
"Why would you want to go out there?" His voice had become hostile, and Rosalina stepped back, startled. She saw a hint of fear in his eyes, as if he was afraid of the world. "There's nothing but pain out there. People will only hurt you. I won't. Just stay with me. You'll be safer."  
She tore her hand out of his grasp, hoping he hadn't notice her shudder when he had grabbed her. His grip had felt cold and...wet. She looked at her arm and found blood on it.  
She backed away from him slowly, her eyes widening in fear, her heart beating quickly.  
She turned to run, but felt him put his hand over her mouth and nose, suffocating her.  
She wrestled with him, desperately trying to throw him off, but to no avail. She felt lightheaded and her vision faded to black. Soon she fell to the floor, unconscious.  
Konnor hoisted her over his shoulder. Everything was going his way. The evil people were gone or dead and Rosalina was safely in his care. The only thing that stood in his way now was Luigi.  
_'He will receive the most painful death.'_ It told Konnor. _'She will watch him die and realize why she should stay.'_  
Konnor nodded, a grin spreading across his face. He would win, and they would lose.  
For once in his life, he felt invincible. He felt powerful. He felt happy.

**So, what did you guys think of this chapter? Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Lend a Hand

**Since the story is nearly over, I thought, 'Hey, why not post the last chapter along with chapter 4? It's pretty short, so what the hey?" So please enjoy chapter 5!**

Rosalina's eyes fluttered open slowly. She felt light headed and groggy, and her vision was blurry at first. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of this feeling. Rosalina tried to rub her eyes, but found that her hands were bound to the chair she was sitting in.  
Fear seeped into her heart and she looked around hastily, trying to determine where she was.  
She was tied sitting on a wooden chair in a closet just wide enough for her to fit in, her arms tied to the chair behind her back.  
She flinched when she felt something fall onto her shoulder. She slowly looked up. Rosalina's heart skipped a beat at the gory sight.

**[****WARNING****: The following scene is extremely graphic and disturbing, so if you don't think you can read it without throwing up and/or getting mental trauma (then why the hell are you reading this fic? jk) please skip ahead to the next set of bold text.]**

Hanging above her were hands, most still bloody, the crimson liquid illuminated by the moonlight that flooded in through the closet door. They hung by the ceiling of the closet by their fingers, small strings tied around each each finger. The flesh near the wrist was a horrific sight. Multiple cuts could be seen around it and sharp pieces of sliced bone could be seen jutting out of the skin. Some of the hands had veins hanging out like thin tentacles, blood still dripping from them like water droplets from a leaky faucet. The wrists must have been detached in a very crude fashion since some of the skin hung down past the bones in various places.  
The worst part was that Rosalina recognized the hands. She saw Bowser's, Yoshi's, and even one of Mario's hands.  
She watched as a droplet of blood ran down a broken piece of bone in Wario's hand and fell onto her cheek. Rosalina felt as if she was about to faint and she bent over, vomit coming out of her mouth.

**[Okay, kids, you can look now. Actually, it's probably better that you didn't read that last part. Just by writing it my wrists felt weak and I felt like throwing up, two things that usually happen to me whenever I see or imagine something REALLY gory. If you did read it, tell me what you thought about it. Too descriptive? Not gory enough? Did you cringe or something? Anyways, read on.]**

When she had recovered, she looked straight ahead out the door, wanting to look anywhere but up. Ahead of her was a familiar person sitting on a bed, light from the window behind him streaming in and causing his face to be veiled in shadow.  
"Do you like my collection?" he asked calmly. "You don't know how much trouble I had to go through to get those. But I feel like it was worth it."  
Rosalina stared at him with a mixture of mortal terror and hatred. She knew that he was the only one who could have been responsible for this. She knew he had killed her friends.  
"Why?" she croaked, her voice weak after throwing up. "Why did they kill them? What did they do to you?"  
Konnor sighed and sat back, admiring his collection. "They weren't good people. They would only hurt you and others. It's best that they're gone."  
"And who are you to judge? You can't possibly expect me to believe that you think you can justify a reason for killing my friends!"  
Konnor looked offended, then angry. "I'm only trying to help you! Do you realize what others would do to you? All they want to do is hurt you, throw you under the bus so they can benefit! I wouldn't do that to you. Your'e safe here with me."  
Rosalina was officially creeped out. "Why me? What did I do that makes me different than them?"  
"You're kind, understanding, and compassionate. When I spoke to you, you were sympathetic and helped me. You didn't shun me like everyone else. Now, I only want to repay that kindness by eliminating all who would hurt you."  
What had been a simple good deed to Rosalina had turned into an unhealthy obsession to Konnor.  
"Look, I know that you must feel alone and scared, but what you're doing is wrong! By killing my friends, your hurting me!"  
Konnor jumped to his feet and screamed, knocking over his bedside table. Rosalina gasped in shock as he advanced towards her.  
"Your'e wrong! I know what's right, and you'll thank me for this later!" He curled his hand into a fist, but screamed in pain as it began to go haywire, the fingers moving by their own accord. He smashed his head into the wall until blood began to flow down his face. Finally his hand stopped twitching and he panted, completely exhausted.  
He looked at Rosalina again. "I won't hurt you." he whispered. "I'll protect you."  
Suddenly there was a banging on the door and a voice could be heard shouting on the other side.  
"Daisy! Daisy, I'm here! Hold on!"  
Rosalina gasped, recognizing the voice. "Luigi!? Luigi, help! I'm stuck in here!"  
"Rosalina? Are you okay? Is Daisy with you?"  
"No, I don't know where she is." Rosalina briefly glanced upwards once more. "But I don't think he's killed her."  
"Really?" his voice rose in hope. "Okay. Hold on, I'll help you!"  
Konnor smirked and grabbed his knife from the bed, heading out of Rosalina's line of sight and towards the door.  
"It looks like your right on time, but I'm afraid your princess is in another castle. But your welcome to come in and die."  
A crash was heard as Luigi broke through the door. He ducked as Konnor thrust at his head with the knife. Luigi kicked him in the stomach, sending him into the back wall of the room.  
"You are not killing any more of my friends!" Luigi yelled, acting braver then he felt.  
Konnor lunged at him again and Luigi dodged. He had been sliced in the leg, but had barely felt it through his adrenaline rush. He swung his fist at Konnor's face three times. The first two attacks missed, but Luigi had hit him with the last one.  
Konnor stumbled backwards, but was hardly finished. He uppercut Luigi with the hilt of the knife and went in for more stabs, barely missing him.  
Rosalina struggled at her bonds, trying to break free. She had to help Luigi, but they were just too tight. She glanced behind her and noticed a chip in the wall. A piece of the wall jutted out a bit like a spike, sharp enough to cut something. She scooted back as far as she could and began to slide the rope against it, trying not to puke again as one of Konnor's...artworks touched her head.  
Luigi dodged another slice and threw a lamp at Konnor. It struck his face and he fell down, his knife sliding away from him. Luigi wasted no time in pouncing on him. He threw a few good punches in before Konnor roared in fury and kicked him off. He stood up and grabbed an empty syringe from the counter next to him.  
He pinned Luigi onto the floor with his foot and kneeled down, jamming the needle into his right eye.  
Luigi screamed in agony, wrestling with Konnor's eye, desperately trying to remove the syringe from his eye. He felt blood run out of it and onto his face. Konnor pulled back and Luigi saw him smile evilly with his left eye, his image now blurry and indistinguishable from anything else around him from his right eye.  
"Any last words?" he asked.  
Suddenly, his face morphed into an expression of pain. He fell off of Luigi and and onto his back. Rosalina stood above him, Konnor's bloody knife in her hands, tears streaming down her face.  
She kneeled in front of him and sunk the knife into his stomach four more times, creating bloody holes all over his chest.  
Afterwards, she dropped the knife and backed away from the Koopa, her hands grabbing her face, her fear filled eyes visible between her fingers.  
Luigi did his best to rise into a sitting position, supporting himself with one hand, the other clamped over his bloody eye. He looked at Konnor. He had rolled over onto his stomach and was staring at Rosalina, gasping for air.  
"It felt good...didn't it?" he asked in a raspy voice. "Killing the...person who wronged you...there's no greater...feeling in life..."  
Rosalina began to whimper, not believing what she had just done, unable to look away from Konnor.  
He smiles faintly and chuckles to himself, coughing up blood in the process. "Hold on to...that feeling...and use it...again."  
He gave one last breath and stopped moving, his eyes rolling back into his head.  
Konnor was finally dead.  
Luigi got up and walked towards Rosalina. He reached out to her, but she collapsed to the floor in tears. He bent down and put his hands on her shoulders.  
"Hey," he said softly. "It's okay. We're fine. We don't need to worry anymore."  
She looked up at his face and she burst into tears again. "Oh God, Luigi! Look at yourself! It's all my fault! If I had only been quicker..."  
"I would have died if you hadn't jumped in when you did." he said. "So what if I lost my eye? At least I'm alive."  
He tried to sound positive, but he felt terrible. It was all he could do to stay strong and keep from bursting into tears himself.  
"Luigi, it was horrible." Rosalina sobbed. "He...he killed..."  
Luigi whisked her and held her close in a hug. She cried into his shoulder, clinging to him as if he was a lifeline.  
"Don't worry. We're fine now." he whispered, staring out the window behind her. "We're safe."

7Z7Z7Z7

"In other news, the funeral service for the victims of the St. Pat T.'s murder incident was held at Mushroom City cemetery today. The survivors of the incident, Luigi Mario, younger brother of the beloved hero Mario Mario, Rosalina Stardust, Toad Spore, Toadette Fungi, and Bowser Jr., youngest son of the infamous Bowser Koopa, reported just one week ago that, during an after party at the St. Pat T.'s fundraiser, they were locked within the hospital and hunted down by a murderer, a patient named Konnor Shell, who also was found dead. Many of their friends were killed that evening, and family and friends gathered at the funeral service to lay their respects. More on this story coming up after the break." a female Toad news reporter said.  
Rosalina turned off the TV as a commercial for skin cream came on.  
It had been a week since that night, and she still hadn't felt any different. She felt isolated and lonely. Luigi had tried to help her, but she pushed him away, not wanting to be near anybody.  
She had locked herself in her apartment room for the past few days, not answering any Phoenix calls or messages from her friends. After the incident, she hadn't felt comfortable staying in Peach's castle, so she had rented an apartment room, hoping to close herself off from everything else.  
The jumped when the phone suddenly rang. She looked at the caller ID and wasn't surprised to see that it was Luigi. She sat on the couch and hugged her legs to her chest, not wanting to speak to him.  
After a few more rings, the answering machine told him to leave a message. A beep sounded and Rosalina heard Luigi's voice.  
"Hey Rose. It's Luigi. I know you may not be ready to move on yet, but we're all worried about you. Please, if you're hearing this, please pick up."  
He was silent for a moment, hoping to hear her voice. When he didn't hear a response, he sighed and continued.  
"All right, then, but at least listen to what's been happening while you've been gone."  
"We all went to the funeral today. Daisy took it pretty hard, but she tried her best to stay strong. I'll admit that I even shed a tear or two. Jr. didn't look to good. He was with his brothers and sister, and they tried to comfort him, but I don't think they helped too much. It's still undecided about what will happen to them, but it's most likely that they'll be put under their mother's custody."  
"Toad is still in the hospital, so he obviously couldn't make it. Toadette was with him too. The doctors say that he's healing quickly and should be discharged from the hospital in another week or so. It's a miracle, really, considering the damage he had taken."  
"They took my eye out. The doctors said that there was a chance that it could infect my good eye at some point in my life, and I couldn't see out of it anyway, so it was better for them to remove it. They put in a fake eye and it's a little hard adjusting to being half blind, but I'll be all right."  
"With my brother gone...I just don't know what to do. I never really realized how much I depended on him until he was gone. I still can't really believe that he's dead. But I have to move on."  
"When Toad gets out of the hospital, we're all going to visit Rougueport. Daisy and I decided that it would be a good idea to get away from this place for a while, and Toad and Toadette agreed. We really think you should come. It'll help you forget about things. We'll be leaving at 7:00 AM next Tuesday, so please consider coming with us."  
Rosalina smashed the receiver until the buttons flew out and it broke. Help her forget!? He had no idea how she felt! There was no way she could forget what happened.  
She stared at her right hand, the hand that she had held a knife in a week ago, the hand that she had used to murder Konnor. Ever since she had killed him, it had never felt the same. It felt more like dead weight, a parasite that clung to her and drained her of her life and happiness.  
She strode to the kitchen and flung open a drawer. Rosalina grabbed a knife and cringed at the sight. It looked exactly like the one Konnor had used.  
She shook her head. She couldn't go back now. She couldn't live with it anymore.  
She placed her right hand on the table and gripped the knife firmly in her left. She raised it, but hesitated.  
_'Do it.'_ It said.  
She nodded grimly and tightened her hold on the weapon. Then she brought the knife down onto her wrist, Konnor's last words echoing in her mind.  
_'Hold on to that feeling, and use it again.'_

_****_**And that's a wrap! I finally finished this fic! It's my first horror story, so please review and tell me what you thought of it! And also stay tuned for the sequel of this fic. It probably won't come out for a while, but I'm really excited for it. It will have a different element to it since there will be a bunch of monsters killing people instead of an insane guy. Also, it will feature the Paper Mario partners. I'm planning on making it longer and better than this fic, so if that sounds like your sort of thing, please check it out when I release it!**

**Anyways, I'd like to thank you for reading my fic. Sometimes I had to sort of force my self to keep writing, but it was a fun experience. I apologize if you got confused by the way I kept jumping around time-wise in chapter 4, but I needed to tell what happened to the characters, and I didn't really have any other idea for doing that.**

**So...yeah! That's it. Once again, thanks for reading and please tell me what you thought about the story. Later!**

**- booMshrooM**


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